System and method for generating digital content within an augmented reality environment

ABSTRACT

A method of ordering tag prints on a graphical user interface (GUI) includes receiving a media selection in response to an upload selection, transmitting the media to a remote computing device, receiving a tag selection, transmitting the tag selection to the remote computing device, and displaying an order confirmation message. A computing system includes one or more processors and a memory including computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing system to receive a user selection, transmit media to a remote computing device receive, a tag selection, transmit the tag selection to a remote computing device, and display a confirmation. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing program instructions that when executed, cause a computer system to receive a user selection, transmit media to a remote computing device receive, a tag selection, transmit the tag selection to a remote computing device, and display a confirmation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The priority benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/203,142,filed Nov. 28, 2018, is claimed and the entire contents thereof areincorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to a system and method forstoring and delivering media content, and more specifically relates togenerating an identification tag, corresponding to media content, thatwhen scanned enables the media content to be presented on a clientdevice.

BACKGROUND

Electronic devices, such as smart phones and tablet devices, have becomemore ubiquitous as technology and device capability have improved.Existing electronic and digital technology has improved the quality,form, functionality, and applications of capturing, storing, sharing,and displaying image, video, audio, and other types of digital mediacontent. In some instances, this digital content provides benefits overtraditional forms of media, such as photographs, CDs, DVD, etc., becauseof the low cost of the electronic devices, the high quality of thecaptured digital content, and the flexibility of transferring/sharingthe digital content.

While advancements in technology have diminished the need forindividuals to be physically present at an event or location in order toparticipate in and/or experience the event/location, existing technologystill fails to provide the authenticity of an event, experience, place,and/or other content. For example, watching a video of concert orsporting event does not provide the viewer the same ear-deafening andground shaking experience as if the viewer had attended theconcert/event in person. Additionally, a user's specific conditionsand/or disabilities may prevent him/her from experiencing the content asit was intended to be experienced. For example, a visually impairedindividual, such as a person who is color blind, cannot see a famouspainting as it was intended to be seen by the painter.

Beyond the underlying quality of digital content, there are still avariety of issues that arise despite the large volume, wide array, andaccessibility of digital content. While users may store their digitalcontent on a stored medium, such as a disc or a solid state drive, andshare the digital medium with others, such techniques can be expensive,cumbersome, and intrusive. Storing digital content requires a tremendousamount of memory, and often requires users constantly and closelymonitor the availability of space on their devices. In instances inwhich digital content is stored locally on a user's device, a user isoften forced to choose between which content to retain and which todelete because of the amount of storage the content consumes on theuser's device. One solution to this problem, is to upload the content toa digital file hosting repository and/or to post the content to a socialmedia platform. However, accessing remote content requires streaming ordownloading the content, which can be time consuming, data transferintensive, and expensive. Further, the user may not be able to controlwho accesses the uploaded content or how it is used after the contenthas been uploaded. In turn this can lead to privacy and intellectualproperty misappropriation issues.

Accordingly, a need exists for an improved and enhanced experience forusers to capture, store, share, access, and experience digital content.

SUMMARY

The present application disclosure provides a system and method forgenerating digital content within an augmented reality environment.

In an embodiment, a computer-implemented method of ordering uniqueidentification tag prints on a graphical user interface (GUI) of aclient device includes receiving, via the GUI, a user selection of oneor more digital media, in response to a user upload selection receivedvia the GUI, transmitting the one or more digital media to a remotecomputing device, receiving, via the GUI, a user tag print selection,the user tag print selection including a size, a quantity, a location,or user contact information of the unique identification tag,transmitting the user tag print selection to the remote computingdevice, and displaying, on the GUI, a tag print order confirmationmessage.

In another embodiment, a computing system for generating a uniqueidentification tag print includes one or more processors, and a memoryincluding computer-executable instructions that, when executed by theone or more processors, cause the computing system to receive, via GUI,a user selection of one or more digital media, transmit the one or moredigital media to a remote computing device in response to receiving auser upload selection via the GUI, receive, via the GUI, a user tagprint selection, the user tag print selection including a size, aquantity, a location, or user contact information of a tag, transmit theuser tag print selection to the remote computing device, and display, onthe GUI, a tag print order confirmation message.

In yet another embodiment, a non-transitory computer readable mediumstoring program instructions that when executed, cause a computer systemto receive, via a GUI, a user selection of one or more digital media,transmit the one or more digital media to a remote computing device inresponse to receiving a user upload selection via the GUI, receive, viathe GUI, a user tag print selection, the user tag print selectionincluding a size, a quantity, a location, or user contact information ofa tag, transmit the user tag print selection to the remote computingdevice, and display, on the GUI, a tag print order confirmation message.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The figures described below depict various aspects of the systems andmethods disclosed herein. Advantages will become more apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the following description of the preferredembodiments which have been shown and described by way of illustration.As will be realized, the present embodiments may be capable of other anddifferent embodiments, and their details are capable of modification invarious respects. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to beregarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive. Further,wherever possible, the following description refers to the referencenumerals included in the following figures, in which features depictedin multiple figures are designated with consistent reference numerals.

FIG. 1A illustrates a block diagram of a computer network and system onwhich content is stored in furtherance of generating an identificationtag corresponding to the content;

FIG. 1B illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of the system inwhich a proprietary server and a client device are connected via anetwork;

FIG. 1C illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of the proprietaryserver;

FIG. 1D illustrates a block diagram of a client source device;

FIG. 1E illustrates a block diagram of a client destination device;

FIG. 2 illustrates a home screen of a client application;

FIG. 3 illustrates an identification tag source screen of a clientapplication;

FIG. 4 illustrates a content upload source screen of a clientapplication;

FIG. 5 illustrates a capture content selection screen of a clientapplication;

FIG. 6 illustrates a content selection screen of a client application;

FIG. 7 illustrates an image selection screen of a client application;

FIG. 8 illustrates a content upload screen of a client application;

FIG. 9 illustrates an identification tag generation screen of a clientapplication;

FIG. 10 illustrates an identification tag print order information screenof a client application;

FIG. 11 illustrates a printer selection screen of a client application;

FIG. 12 illustrates an identification tag print order confirmationscreen of a client application;

FIG. 13 illustrates a print order confirmation receipt screen of aclient application;

FIG. 14 illustrates an identification tag scan screen of a clientapplication;

FIG. 15 illustrates an identification tag recognition screen of a clientapplication;

FIG. 16 illustrates a content formatting screen of a client application;

FIG. 17 illustrates a content presentation screen of a clientapplication; and

FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary method of implementing a contentidentification tag system in which media content is uploaded, anidentification tag corresponding to the content is generated, a physicaldepiction of the identification tag is printed, and the physicaldepiction of the identification tag is scanned in order to access theuploaded content.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure generally relates to a system and method fordelivering media content and, more specifically relates to generating anidentification tag, corresponding to media content, that when scannedenables the media content to be presented on a client destinationdevice.

According to implementations, the systems and methods may support adynamic, real-time or near-real-time communication, analysis, andprocessing of data. In particular, the systems and methods may generatean identification tag corresponding to uploaded media content, print aphysical depiction of the identification tag, scan the identificationtag using an identification tag scanner, analyze the identification tagto identify the uploaded media content associated with theidentification tag, and present the media content associated with theidentification tag on a client destination device.

As used herein, the term “identification tag” refers to any image, text,string of characters, graphical object, or other identifier that can bevisually depicted. The identification tag may be a barcode, QR code,URL, or other textual/graphical coding scheme thatrepresents/corresponds to media content that may bepresented/observed/displayed/played on a client destination device.

As used herein, the term “media content” (or “content” as it will oftenbe referred to hereinafter) refers to visual content (e.g., animage/photo, video, statute, structure, or other art work), audiocontent (e.g., sound clip, song, audio recording, etc.), haptic content(e.g., vibrational signals/patterns), a traversable real-worldenvironment (e.g., a retail store, museum, sports stadium, theme park,national park, etc.), an augmented reality environment (e.g., a digitalart gallery, a proposed retail store layout, etc.), and/or any othertype of experience that can be captured, created, recorded, preserved,and/or otherwise represented by data/files and presented, experienced,demonstrated, played, displayed, etc. on an electronic device.

FIG. 1A illustrates a block diagram of a computer network and system 100on which content is stored in furtherance of generating anidentification tag corresponding to the content. It should beappreciated that the system 100 is merely an example and thatalternative or additional components are envisioned. The system 100includes both hardware and software applications, as well as variousdata communication channels for communicating data between the varioushardware and software components. The system 100 may be roughly dividedinto front-end components 102 and back-end components 104. The front-endcomponents may include a host network 110 and a client network 210. Theback-end components may include a central processing system 140 and oneor more proprietary servers 202.

The front-end components 102 communicate with the back-end components104 via a digital network 130. The digital network 130 may be aproprietary network, a secure public Internet, a virtual private networkor some other type of network, such as dedicated access lines, plainordinary telephone lines, satellite links, combinations of these, etc.In embodiments in which the digital network 130 comprises the Internet,data communication may take place over the digital network 130 via anInternet communication protocol.

The front-end components 102 may be disposed within a host network 110,including one or more retail stores 112, and/or or a client network 210,including any physical environment in which a user is physicallypresent. In some embodiments, the host network 110 and the clientnetwork 210 may be a single network.

The client network 210 may include one or more client source devices216, one or more client destination devices 218, and an identificationtag 205. The client source device 216 may include, by way of example,any electronic device, such as a smart phone, a desktop computer, alaptop, a tablet, a phablet, a smart watch, smart glasses, wearableelectronics, pager, personal digital assistant, a home assistant and/ordigital concierge device, and/or any other electronic device, includingcomputing devices configured for wireless radio frequency (RF)communication to capture and/or upload/transmit/transfer content to theproprietary server 202. The client source device 216 may becommunicatively connected to the client destination device 218, theretail stores 112, and to a system 140 through the digital network 130,as described below. Components and features of the client source device216 will be discussed in greater detail with respect to FIG. 1D. Theclient destination device 218 may include, by way of example, anyelectronic device, such as a smart phone, a desktop computer, a laptop,a tablet, a phablet, a smart watch, smart glasses, wearable electronics,pager, personal digital assistant, a home assistant and/or digitalconcierge device, virtual reality headset, virtual reality simulator,and/or any other electronic device, including computing devicesconfigured for wireless radio frequency (RF) communication to receiveand/or present content. The client destination device 218 may becommunicatively connected to the client source device 216, the retailstores 112, and to a system 140 through the digital network 130, asdescribed below. Components and features of the client destinationdevice 218 will be discussed in greater detail with respect to FIG. 1E.It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, the client sourcedevice 216 and the client destination device 218 may be the same deviceor a single device configured to operate and perform the functionalitiesas the client source device 216 and/or client destination device 218. Itshould be appreciate that a device may operate and perform thefunctionalities as a client source device 216 despite also beingconfigured to operate as a client destination device 218, andvice-versa. For example, a user may capture and upload images using asmart phone device, and then later use that same smart phone device toscan an identification tag 205 and access the same uploaded contentoriginally captured on the smart phone device and/or other uploadedcontent.

The retail stores 112 may be located, by way of example rather thanlimitation, in separate geographic locations from each other, includingdifferent areas of the same city, different cities, or even differentstates. Each of the retail stores 112 may be, for example, an in-storeretail store, an on-line store, or a mail-order store. An in-storeretail store may be a “brick and mortar” store that may include one ormore physical buildings or structures, where each of the retail stores112 may accommodate shoppers and customers. The host network 110 mayalso include one or more warehouses or central-printing facilities 118.The warehouses or central-printing facilities 118 may distributephysical prints of an identification tag to the various retail stores112 in the host network 110, or may distribute the physical prints of anidentification tag directly to customers. As used herein, the term“retail store” refers to any of these environments (e.g., kiosks,Internet interface terminals, etc.).

The one or more retail stores 112 may include a number of workstations128 configured to execute various product and service-relatedapplications. The workstations 128 may be local computers located in thevarious retail stores 112 throughout the host network 110. Theworkstations 128 may include a user interface application 111, a serverapplication 113, a facility server 126, and a printer 145. Retail storepersonnel (not shown) may use the workstations 128 to access informationrelating to customers, store inventory, available products, payments,identification tags, and so forth. The server application 113 may becommunicatively connected with the client source device 216 and theclient destination device 218 via the network 130. The serverapplication 113 may be configured to receive data/files, correspondingto uploaded content and/or an identification tag, transmitted from theclient source device 216, via the network 130, and then route thereceived data/files to other devices (e.g., a printer 145, clientdestination device 218, etc.).

The printer 145 may be any device that is capable of printing, creating,or otherwise generating a physical depiction of an identification tag205, based upon received data/files corresponding to the identificationtag. The server application 113 and/or client source device 216 may becommunicatively connected with the printer 145. The printer 145 may beassociated with a maximum resolution and/or a variety of supported printsizes. The printer 145 may print 2D or 3D depictions (e.g., images,text, a barcode, QR code, URL, an icon, a logo, etc.) on any tangiblemedium. In some embodiments, the printer 145 may be a 3D printer thatprints the identification tag as one or more 3D articles (e.g., cutouts,sculptures, shapes, etc.) depicting the identification tag. The printer145 may print the identification tag 205 on paper having adhesivequalities (e.g., “pull n' peel”, sticker sheet, etc.) so that theidentification tag may be easily and securely affixed to and/or removedfrom any number of surfaces and/or articles. Although FIG. 1A depictsonly one printer 145, it should be appreciated that the serverapplication 113 may be interconnected to any number of printersconfigured to print a physical embodiment of the identification tag.Moreover, environments other than the retail stores 112 may employ aserver application and a printer so that a user can print physicaldepictions of the identification tag from a personal, public, or otherprinter (e.g., within the client network 210) at the user's ownconvenience. Accordingly, in some embodiments the printer 145 may bepart of the host network 110, whereas in other embodiments the printer145 may be part of the client network 210. For example, a user may beable to print an identification tag from the user's own personal printerlocated in the user's home, office, or other personal dwelling.

The identification tag 205 may be a physical depiction of theidentification tag. The identification tag 205 may be printed, created,or otherwise generated by the printer 145. The identification tag 205may be scanned by the client destination device 218, or a component ofthe client destination device 218, in furtherance of accessing contentstored on the proprietary server 202/central processing system 140. Insome embodiments, the identification tag 205 may be a two-dimensionalprint (e.g., a piece of paper, a poster, a sticker, a pamphlet, a pricetag, etc.). In some embodiments, the identification tag 205 may be athree-dimensional article (e.g., cutouts, sculptures, shapes, etc.). Theidentification tag 205 may have adhesive properties on one or more ofits surfaces such that it is configured to be easily affixed and/orremoved from any number of surfaces and/or articles.

The retail stores 112 may also include a plurality of facility servers126 disposed instead of, or in addition to, a plurality of workstations128. Each of the retail stores 112 may include one or more facilityservers 126 that may facilitate communications between the workstations128 of the retail stores 112 via the digital network 130, and may storeinformation for a plurality of customers/employees/accounts/etc.associated with each facility. A local digital network 184 may alsooperatively connect each of the workstations 128 to the facility server126. Unless otherwise indicated, any discussion of the workstations 128also refers to the facility servers 126, and vice versa. Moreover,environments other than the retail stores 112 may employ theworkstations 128 and the servers 126.

One or more of the front-end components 102 may be excluded fromcommunication with the back-end components 104 by configuration or bylimiting access due to security concerns. For example, the client sourcedevice 216 may be excluded from direct access to the back-end components104. In some embodiments, the retail stores 112 may communicate with theback-end components via the digital network 130. In other embodiments,the retail stores 112, the client source device 216, and the clientdestination device 218 may communicate with the back-end components 104via the same digital network 130, but digital access rights, IP masking,and other network configurations may deny access to the client sourcedevice 216 or client destination device 218.

The back-end components 104 may include a central processing system 140and one or more proprietary servers 202. The retail stores 112 may becommunicatively connected to different back-end components 104 havingone or more functions or capabilities that are similar to the centralprocessing system 140. The central processing system 140 may include adatabase 146 and a controller 155. The controller 155 may be operativelyconnected to the database 146 via a link 156 connected to aninput/output (I/O) circuit 166. It should be noted that, while notshown, additional databases may be linked to the controller 155 in aknown manner. The central processing system 140 may implement a serverapplication 113 for providing data to a user interface application 111operating on the workstations 128. The central processing system 140 mayinclude one or more computer processors 162 adapted and configured toexecute various software applications and components of the system 100,in addition to other software applications. The database 146 is adaptedto store data related to the operation of the system 100 (e.g., uploadedcontent, identification tags, customer profile data, past identificationtag purchases, an augmented digital reality environment housing theuploaded content, etc.) The central processing system 140 may accessdata stored in the database 146 when executing various functions andtasks associated with the operation of the system 100. Data stored inthe database 146 may be delivered to the client source device 216, theclient destination device 218, the server application 113, facilityserver 126, workstation 128, etc. For example, the database 146 maystore content uploaded by a user, via the client source device 216, thatmay eventually be presented via the client destination device 218, aswell as a register of the identification tags corresponding to thecontent uploaded by the user.

It should be appreciated that the systems and methods described hereinand/or any embodiments thereof may comprise different quantities and/ortypes of the components described. For example, although FIG. 1A depictsthe system 100 as including one central processing system 140 incommunication with three retail stores 112, one client source device216, one client destination device 218, one identification tag 205,etc., it should be understood that different numbers of processingsystems, retail stores, identification tags, and devices may beutilized. For example, the digital network 130 (or other digitalnetworks, not shown) may interconnect the central processing system 140to a plurality of included central processing systems 140, hundreds ofretail stores 112, and thousands of client source devices 216 and clientdestination devices 218. Similarly, in some embodiments, multiplecomponents may be just a single component. For example, the clientsource device 216 and client destination device 218, although shown astwo separate components in FIG. 1A, may be the same single device.

The controller 155 includes a program memory 160, the processor 162 (maybe called a microcontroller or a microprocessor), a random-access memory(RAM) 164, and the input/output (I/O) circuit 166, all of which areinterconnected via an address/data bus 165. A link 135 may operativelyconnect the controller 155 to the digital network 130 through the I/Ocircuit 166. Although FIG. 1A depicts only one controller 155 with onemicroprocessor 162, one program memory 160, and one RAM 164, it shouldbe understood that different quantities of each may be utilized orpresent. Although the I/O circuit 166 is shown as a single block, itshould be appreciated that the I/O circuit 166 may include a number ofdifferent types of I/O circuits. The RAM(s) 164 and the program memories160 may be implemented as semiconductor memories, magnetically readablememories, and/or optically readable memories, for example.

The program memory 160 may contain machine-readable instructions (i.e.,software) 171, for execution by the processor 162. The software 171 mayperform the various tasks associated with operation of the retail storeor retail stores, and may be a single module 171 or a plurality ofmodules 171A, 171B. While the software 171 is depicted in FIG. 1A asincluding two modules, 171A and 171B, the software 171 may include anynumber of modules accomplishing tasks related to retail store operationassociated with the systems and methods described herein, including, forexample, receiving uploaded content, receiving print orders foridentification tags, managing inventory of identification tags, fillingorders print orders, providing equipment for accessing uploaded content,and/or other services relating to supporting/operating a digitalaugmented reality.

FIG. 1B illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of the system 100in which a proprietary server 202, the client source device 216, and theclient destination device 218 are connected via the network 130. In someembodiments, implementing the system 100, the user may initiate andinteract with the proprietary server 202 and the retail store systems(e.g., the central processing system 140) via a client source device216, a client destination device 218, a specialized application such asthe client application 266, or a plurality of web pages. In someinstances, the client source device 216 and client destination device218 may communicate with the network 130 via wireless signals 220 and,in some instances, may communicate with the network 130 via anintervening wireless or wired device (not shown), such as a wirelessrouter, wireless repeater, base transceiver station of a mobiletelephony provider, etc. The client source device 216 and/or clientdestination device 218 may interact with the proprietary server 202 toreceive web pages or server data from the proprietary server 202 and maydisplay the web pages or server data via a client application 266. Itshould be appreciated that in some embodiments, the client source device216 and the client destination device 218 may be a single device or thesame device. It should be appreciated that although only one proprietaryserver 202 is depicted in FIG. 1B, multiple proprietary servers 202 maybe provided for the purpose of distributing server load, servingdifferent web pages, implementing different portions of the retail storeweb interface, etc. These multiple proprietary servers 202 may include aweb server, an entity-specific server (e.g., an Apple® server, etc.), aserver that is disposed in a retail or proprietary network, anindependent third-party server that is not under the control of theentity, etc.

FIG. 1C illustrates an embodiment of the proprietary server 202. Theproprietary server may be connected to the central processing server140, the facility server 126, the client source device 216, and/or theclient destination device 218 via the network 130. The proprietaryserver 202 includes a controller 224. The controller 224 includes aprogram memory 226, a microcontroller or a microprocessor (MP) 228, arandom-access memory (RAM) 230, and an input/output (I/O) circuit 234,all of which are interconnected via an address/data bus 232. Thecontroller 224 may implement the RAM(s) 230 and the program memories 226as semiconductor memories, magnetically readable memories, and/oroptically readable memories, for example. In some embodiments, thecontroller 224 may also include, or otherwise be communicativelyconnected to, a database 239 or other data storage mechanism (e.g., oneor more hard disk drives, optical storage drives, solid state storagedevices, etc.). The database 239 may include data such as customer webprofiles, product data, mobile device application data, web pagetemplates and/or web pages, and other data necessary to interact withthe user through the network 130.

In some embodiments, the proprietary server 202 may act as a routing orinterfacing server between the client source device 216, the clientdestination device 218, and the central processing system 140 in orderto assist in facilitating some of the functionality of the system 100.For example, the proprietary server 202 may be configured to communicatewith the central processing system 140, the client source device 216,an/or the client destination device 216 via a multitude of protocols,such as packet-switched protocols, web services, web APIs (ApplicationProgramming Interface), etc. The proprietary server 202 may also convert(if necessary) and route client application data (not shown) to theappropriate server, such as the central process system 140. In someembodiments, the proprietary server 202 may act as the destinationserver and need not route any data from the client source device 216and/or to the client destination device 218. It should be appreciatedthat references made throughout this disclosure totransmitting/receiving content/data/files/etc. to and/or from theproprietary server 202 may also entail transmitting/receivingcontent/data/files/etc. to and/or from the central processing system140, either directly or indirectly.

The program memory 226 and/or the RAM 230 may store various applicationsfor execution by the microprocessor 228. For example, a user-interfaceapplication 236 may provide a user interface to the proprietary server202, which may, for example, allow a network administrator to configure,troubleshoot, or test various aspects of the server's operation, orotherwise to access information thereon. A server application 238operates to populate and transmit client application data and web pagesto the client source device 216 and client destination device 218,receive information from the client source device 216 and/or clientdestination device 218 transmitted back to the proprietary server 202,and forward appropriate data to the central processing system 140,client destination device 218, and the facility servers 126. The serverapplication 238 may be a single module 238 or a plurality of modules238A, 238B. While the server application 238 is depicted in FIG. 1C asincluding two modules, 238A and 238B, the server application 238 mayinclude any number of modules accomplishing tasks related toimplantation of the proprietary server 202. By way of example, themodule 238A may populate and transmit the client application data and/ormay receive and evaluate inputs from the user to receive a data accessrequest, while the module 238B may communicate with one or more of theback end components 104 to fulfill a data access request. Although FIG.1C depicts only one controller with one microprocessor 228, one programmemory 228, and one RAM 230, it should be understood that differentquantities of each may be utilized or present. Similarly FIG. 1C depictsthe I/O circuit 234 as a single block, the I/O circuit 234 may include anumber of different types of I/O circuits.

FIG. 1D illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of the clientsource device 216. The client source device 216, or a plurality ofclient source devices, may be configured to capture content, selectcontent to upload, upload content to the proprietary server 202 and/orthe central processing system 140, and generate a print of a physicaldepiction of the identification tag corresponding to the uploadedcontent. The client source device 216 may be connected to the centralprocessing server 140, proprietary server 202, client destination device218, and/or other components of the host network 110 via the network130. The client source device 216 may include a user interface 240, acontroller 242, a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit 244, a contentcapture unit 256, and a communication unit 258.

The user interface 240 may be configured to present information to theuser and/or receive inputs from the user, and may accordingly include aset of I/O components (e.g., capacitive or resistive touch sensitiveinput panels, keys, buttons, lights, LEDs, cursor control devices,haptic devices, and others). In some embodiments, the user interface 240may be a touchscreen display using singular or combinations of displaytechnologies and can include a thin, transparent touch sensor componentsuperimposed upon a display section that is viewable by a user. Forexample, such displays include capacitive displays, resistive displays,surface acoustic wave (SAW) displays, optical imaging displays, and thelike. The user interface 240 may include one or more user-input devices(not shown). In some embodiments, the user-input device may include a“soft” keyboard that is displayed on a display/screen of the clientsource device 216, an external hardware keyboard communicating via awired or a wireless connection (e.g., a Bluetooth keyboard), an externalmouse, or any other suitable user-input device. In some embodiments, theuser input device may be one or more auxiliary input ports such as aUSB, lightning port, audio out, video out, etc. The user interface 240may also include one or more user output devices (not shown) configuredto connect the client source device 216 to additional components and/orto facilitate delivery of content to other devices. For example, theuser output device may be one or more auxiliary output ports such as aUSB, lightning port, audio out, video out, etc. The user output devicemay be configured to connect to a speaker, projector, earphones,vibrating device, smell generating/emitting device, headset, television,computer, phone, virtual reality hardware, monitor, or other electronicdevice. It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, the userinput device and user output device may be a single I/O component.

The controller 242 includes a program memory 246, one or moremicrocontroller or a microprocessor (MP) 248, a random-access memory(RAM) 250, and an input/output (I/O) circuit 254, all of which areinterconnected via an address/data bus 252. The program memory 246includes an operating system 260, a data storage 262, a plurality ofsoftware applications 264, and a plurality of software routines 268. Theoperating system 260, for example, may include one of a plurality ofmobile platforms such as the iOS®, Android™, Palm® webOS, WindowsMobile/Phone, BlackBerry® OS, or Symbian® OS mobile technologyplatforms, developed by Apple Inc., Google Inc., Palm Inc. (nowHewlett-Packard Company), Microsoft Corporation, Research in Motion(RIM), and Nokia, respectively. The data storage 262 may include datasuch as media content, user profiles, application data for the pluralityof applications 264, routine data for the plurality of routines 268, andother data necessary to interact with the proprietary server 202, thecentral processing system 140, the facility servers 126, and/or theserver applications 113 through the digital network 130. In someembodiments, the controller 242 may also include, or otherwise becommunicatively connected to, other data storage mechanisms (e.g., oneor more hard disk drives, optical storage drives, solid state storagedevices, etc.) that reside within the client source device 216. AlthoughFIG. 1D depicts only one controller 242 with one microprocessor 248, oneprogram memory 246, and one RAM 250, it should be understood thatdifferent quantities of each may be utilized or present. Similarly FIG.1D depicts the I/O circuit 254 as a single block, the I/O circuit 254may include a number of different types of I/O circuits. The controller242 may implement the RAM(s) 250 and the program memories 246 assemiconductor memories, magnetically readable memories, and/or opticallyreadable memories, for example.

The GPS unit 244 may use “Assisted GPS” (A-GPS), satellite GPS, or anyother suitable global positioning protocol or system that locates theposition of the client source device 216. For example, A-GPS utilizesterrestrial cell phone towers or Wi-Fi hotspots (e.g., wireless routerpoints) to more accurately and more quickly determine location of theclient source device 216.

The communication unit 258 may communicate with the proprietary server202 via any suitable wireless communication protocol network (e.g., GSM,CDMA, TDMA, WCDMA, LTE, EDGE, OFDM, GPRS, EV-DO, UWB, IEEE 802 includingEthernet, WiMAX, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and others). In some embodiments, thecommunication unit 258 is a transceiver.

The one or more processors 248 may be adapted and configured to executeany one or more of the plurality of software applications 264 and/or anyone or more of the plurality of software routines 268 residing in theprogram memory 242, in addition to other software applications. One ofthe plurality of applications 264 may be a client application 266 thatmay be implemented as a series of machine-readable instructions forperforming the various tasks associated with receiving information at,displaying information on, and transmitting information from the clientsource device 216. One of the plurality of applications 264 may be anative web browser 270, such as, for example, Apple's Safari®, GoogleAndroid™ mobile web browser, Microsoft Internet Explorer® for Mobile,Opera Mobile™, that may be implemented as a series of machine-readableinstructions for receiving, interpreting, and displaying web pageinformation from the proprietary server 202, the facility servers 126,or the server applications 113 while also receiving inputs from theuser.

In some embodiments, the one or more of the plurality of softwareroutines 268 may include a content capture routine 272, a locationawareness routine 276, a content upload routine 274, and anidentification tag generation routine 278. The content capture routine272 may be implemented as a series of machine-readable instructions forusing the content capture device 256 to capture/record content, orotherwise retrieve data corresponding to captured content. The locationawareness routine 276 may be implemented as a series of machine-readableinstructions for receiving, interpreting, and displaying locationinformation of the client source device 216 from the GPS unit 244. Thecontent upload routine 274 may be implemented as a series ofmachine-readable instructions for uploading/transmitting/transferringthe captured content and/or content stored locally on the client sourcedevice 216, from the client source device 216 to the proprietary server202. In some embodiments, the content upload routine 274 may edit/modifythe captured content so that it is in a compatible format or file typeto be uploaded/stored on the proprietary server 202. In someembodiments, the content upload routine 274 may edit/modify the capturedcontent to improve the quality of the content. For example, the contentupload routine 274 may improve the image quality of a captured image byeliminating noise, removing red eyes of any individuals in the image,brightening the lighting exposure, or otherwise improving the quality ofthe captured content. The identification tag generation routine 278 maybe implemented as a series of machine-readable instructions for creatinga unique identification tag corresponding to the uploaded content, orthe location of the uploaded content on the proprietary server 202,central processing system 140, or component thereof.

In some embodiments, the client source device 216 may further include amedia capture device 256 configured to capture, record, collect, orotherwise create content to be uploaded. The content capture device 256may be any device configured to capture an image, video, audiorecording, haptic patterns, and/or other type of media content. In someembodiments, the content capture device 256 is configured to capturemultimedia, such as a recording with video and audio orthree-dimensional traversable augmented reality environment. The clientcapture device 256 may be built into, or a component of, the clientsource device 216. In some embodiments, the content capture device 256may be an external camera, such as a webcam, that is communicativelycoupled with the client source device 216. Examples of the contentcapture 256 device include, but are not limited to, a camera, webcam,microphone, and video recorder. The client source device 216 may storeone or more image, video, audio, haptic, traversable augmented realityenvironments, and/or other files in a memory therein. For example, theclient source device 216 may include a database of files 239 within thememory. In some embodiments, the database 239 may be additionally oralternatively stored at a server (e.g., facility server 126, etc.)and/or another third party server (such as one associated with DropBox,Amazon, Google Drive, iCloud, etc.). In some embodiments the database146 may store the same data as the database 239. Although FIG. 1Ddepicts the database 239 as coupled to the client source device 216, itis envisioned that the database 239 may be maintained in the “cloud”such that any element of the environment 100 capable of communicatingover the network 130 may directly interact with the database 239.

FIG. 1E illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a clientdestination device 218. FIG. 1D illustrates a block diagram of anembodiment of the client source device 216. The client destinationdevice 218, or a plurality of client destination devices, may beconfigured to, scan an identification tag to retrieve uploaded contentfrom the proprietary server 202 and/or the central processing system140, and present the content to a user. The client destination device218 may be connected to the central processing server 140, proprietaryserver 202, the client source device 216, and/or other components of thehost network 110 via the network 130. The client destination device 218may include a user interface 240, a controller 242, a Global PositioningSystem (GPS) unit 244, an identification tag scanner 257, andcommunication unit 258. The user interface 240, the controller 242, theGlobal Positioning System (GPS) unit 244, and the communication unit 258of the client destination device 218 may operate in the same, or asimilar manner, as described above with respect to the client sourcedevice 216.

In some embodiments, the one or more of the plurality of softwareroutines 268 a location awareness routine 276, an identification tagscanning routine 280, an identification tag recognition routine 282, anda content presentation routine 284. The identification tag scanningroutine 280 may be implemented as a series of machine-readableinstructions for coordinating the identification tag scanner 257 toobtain image/video data of the physical depiction of the identificationtag. The identification tag recognition routine 282 may be implementedas a series of machine-readable instructions for determining whatcontent, stored on the proprietary server 202, corresponds to thescanned identification tag. The content presentation routine 284 may beimplemented as a series of machine-readable instructions forcoordinating, formatting, and presenting the content, corresponding tothe scanned identification tag, via the client destination device 218.In some embodiments, the content presentation routine 284 may format thecontent for a specific user and/or for a specific client destinationdevice.

In some embodiments, the client destination device 218 may furtherinclude the identification tag scanner 257 configured torecord/collect/create/capture an image, video, or other datacorresponding to the identification tag depicted on the physical printof the identification tag. The identification tag scanner 257 may be anydevice configured to capture an image, video, and/or other type of datacorresponding to the physical depiction of the identification tag. Theidentification tag scanner 257 may be built into, or a component of, theclient destination device 218. In some embodiments, the identificationtag scanner 257 may be an external camera, such as a webcam, that iscommunicatively coupled with the client destination device 218. Examplesof the content capture device include, but are not limited to, a camera,webcam, video recorder, fax machine, photocopy machine, digital scanner,barcode scanner, and QR code scanner. It should be appreciated that insome embodiments, the content capture device 256 of the client sourcedevice 216, or a component of the content capture device 256, and theidentification tag scanner 257 may be the same device and operate in thesame or a similar manner. For example, in an embodiment in which theclient source device 216 and the client destination device 218 are thesame device, such as a smart phone with a camera, the content capturedevice 256 and the identification tag scanner 257 may be the samecamera.

It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, the client sourcedevice 216 and the client destination device 218 may be the same device,or two separate devices that contain the same, or similar, hardware andsoftware components, and thus operate in the same, or a similar, manner.

Generally, the term “user” is used when referring to a person who isoperating one of the client source device 216 or client destinationdevice 218 and is not exclusive of the term “customer.” Further, itshould be appreciated that the term user may refer to two or moreindividuals. For example, a user operating the client source device 216may be a different individual than the user operation the clientdestination device 218.

In operation, a user may use the client source device 216 to launch theclient application 266 to access the proprietary server 202 cooperatingwith the central processing system 140 and the retail host network 110.To upload content from the client source device 216 to the proprietaryserver 202, the user may capture original content using the contentcapture device 256 or may select from existing content stored locally onthe client source device 216, and then the client application 266executes a content upload routine 274. The proprietary server 202 maystore the uploaded content in database the 146 of the central processingsystem 140, and then execute the identification tag generation routine278 to generate an identification tag corresponding to the contentstored in database 146. After the proprietary server has stored thecontent and generated the identification tag corresponding to thecontent, the user may use the client application 266 to create one ormore physical depictions of the identification tag 205 and print the oneor more physical depictions of the identification tag 205 using theprinter 145. After the one or more physical depictions of theidentification tag 205 have been printed, the content stored in thedatabase 146 may be accessed by using the client application 266. Toaccess the content corresponding to an identification tag, a user mayuse the client destination device 218 to launch the client application266. The client application 266 may execute the identification tagscanning routine 280 to activate the identification tag scanner 257 toscan the physical depiction of the identification tag 205. After theidentification tag scanner 257 scans the physical depiction of theidentification tag 205, the proprietary server 202 may execute anidentification tag recognition routine 282 to identify and locate thecontent stored in the database 146. Once the proprietary server 202identifies and locates the content corresponding to the scannedidentification tag, the proprietary server 202 may execute the contentpresentation routine 284 to configure, format, and present the contenton the client destination device 218.

As shown in FIG. 1B, to access the proprietary server 202, the facilityservers 126, or the server applications 113, the user executes theclient application 266 on the client source device 216 and/or clientdestination device 218. Using the client application 266, the user mayrequest server data (not shown) by navigating a series of clientapplication screens, such as the home screen 222 of the clientapplication 266. FIGS. 2-17 depict client application pages or screensthat the proprietary server 202, the facility servers 126, or the serverapplications 113 may transmit in various embodiments of the system 100.In any event, the user may launch the client application 266 from theclient source device 216 or client destination device 218 via anysuitable manner, such as touch-selecting a client application icon (notshown) on the display 240 of the client source device 216/clientdestination device 218, double-clicking on the client application iconvia a mouse of a computer or a trackpad of a laptop. After the userlaunches the client application 266, the home screen 222 of the clientapplication 266 is displayed to the user on the client source device216/client destination device 218.

In an embodiment, a client device may store machine-readable code,stored in a memory therein, representative of an identification tagapplication for capturing content, uploading content, generating anidentification tag corresponding to the uploaded content, printing aphysical depiction of the identification tag, scanning an identificationtag to access content, determining stored content corresponding to thescanned identification tag, formatting content corresponding to ascanned identification tag to be presented on a client destinationdevice, and/or presenting/delivering the formatted content to the clientdestination device. As part of this, the user may launch and/or executethe client application 266. In response, the client device may displayone or more interfaces that may direct the user through the process ofcapturing content, uploading content, generating an identification tagcorresponding to the uploaded content, printing a physical depiction ofthe identification tag, scanning an identification tag to accesscontent, determining stored content corresponding to the scannedidentification tag, retrieving the content from the proprietary server,formatting the content to be presented for a specific user and/or aspecific client device, and/or presenting the formatted content to theclient device. In some embodiments, the client device may include abrowser application that enables the user to navigate to a website toperform a task and/or functionality associated with the identificationtag application. Accordingly, the description herein of thefunctionality of an application, refers also to providing similarfunctionality via a web site, and vice versa.

FIG. 2 illustrates a home screen 222 of the client application 266. Afirst menu page of a home screen 222 of the client application 266, forexample, is displayed to the user on a client device. The home screen222 may include a company logo 290, a Digital Content Identification Tagservices link 294, and a menu page indicator 292. In FIG. 2 , the menupage indicator 292 denotes that only the first menu page of the homescreen 222 is currently being displayed. The user may touch-swipe on thedisplay 240 of the client device to view the second menu page (notshown) of the home screen 222. The second menu page of the home screen222 may display additional links that cannot be accommodated on thefirst menu page of the home screen 222 (e.g., a user log-in link, ashopping link, etc.). In another embodiment, using the clientapplication 266, the user may request and navigate a series of webpages, such as webpage 221 for instance, transmitted, preferably in asecure manner (e.g., using Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, known as“HTTPS”), by the proprietary server 202 to the client device. These webpages 221 may be interpreted and displayed via a web browser 270 of theclient device. It should be understood that it may be desirable for someor all of the data transmitted from the proprietary server 202 to theclient source device 216/client destination device 218, or vice versa,to be encrypted and/or otherwise transmitted in a secure manner.

FIG. 3 illustrates an identification tag source screen 300 of the clientapplication 266. From the home screen 222, a user may select the“Digital Content Identification Tag” link 294 to navigate directly tothe identification tag source screen 300 (hereinafter “source screen”)for selecting between creating a new identification tag and scanning anexisting identification tag in order to access content, as shown in FIG.3 , that may be displayed on the client device via the clientapplication 266. It should be appreciated that while the clientapplication 266 is configured to operate all operations andfunctionality on the client source device 216, the client destinationdevice 218, and/or any device comprising a combination of the two,operations and functionality pertaining to creating a new identificationtag using the client application 266 may typically be performed on theclient source device 216, whereas as operations and functionalitypertaining to scanning an existing identification tag may typically beperformed on the client destination device 218. The identification tagsource screen 300 may include a home button 302 that causes the clientapplication 266 to return to the home screen 222. An instructionalmessage 303 may provide directions of use that assist the user inproperly selecting between creating a new identification tag andscanning an existing identification tag to access content in anaugmented reality environment. An information button 304 may cause theclient application 266 to display instructions associated with thesystem 100, or cause the web browser 270 of the client device tonavigate to a web page containing such instructions. The source screen300 also may include an identification tag creator button 306 (typicallyselected by a user when operating the client source device 216), anidentification tag scanner button 308 (typically chosen by a user whenoperating the client destination device 218), or any other suitableindication for the user to select between creating a new identificationtag and scanning an existing identification tag to access content. Forexample, the identification tag creator button 306, when activated bythe user, may cause the client application 266 to navigate directly to acontent upload source screen 400 for selecting between capturing newcontent or retrieving existing content, as shown in FIG. 4 , that may bedisplayed on the client source device 216 via the client application266. Conversely, for example, the identification tag scanner button 308,when activated by the user, may cause the client application 266 tonavigate directly to an identification tag scan screen 1100 forcapturing an image of an existing identification tag, as shown in FIG.11 , that may be displayed on the client destination device 218 via theclient application 266. In some embodiments, the client application 266does not require the user to log onto the proprietary network 130 or theclient application 266 to retrieve content to be uploaded in furtheranceof creating a new identification. Alternatively, the user may berequired to log into the proprietary network 130 for the clientapplication 266 to retrieve, from a remote server, content associatedwith the user.

FIG. 4 illustrates a content upload source screen 400 of a clientapplication 266. The content upload source screen 400 may provide a userinterface on the client source device 216 for selecting betweencapturing new content or retrieving existing content in furtherance ofuploading content to a proprietary server 202. The content upload sourcescreen 400 may include a “Back” selector icon 402 that causes the clientapplication 266 to return to the content source screen 300 or the homescreen 222. The content upload source screen 400 may include a capturenew content selector icon 404, a select existing content selector icon406, or any other selector icons or buttons suitable indication for theuser to select between capturing new content or selecting existingcontent to upload. For example, a user activating the capture newcontent selector icon 404 may cause the client application 266 tonavigate to a capture content selection screen 500 for selecting betweena type of content to capture and then initiate a content capture routine272 to capture the content. Conversely, for example, a user activatingthe select existing content selector icon 406 may cause the clientapplication 266 to navigate to a capture content selection screen 600for selecting a type of previously captured/existing content to upload.

FIG. 5 illustrates a capture content selection screen 500 of a clientapplication 266. The capture content selection screen 500 may beconfigured to enable a user to select a type of content to capture. Thecapture content selection screen 500 may include a “Back” selector icon402 that causes the client application 266 to return to the contentsource screen 300, the content upload source screen 400, or the homescreen 222. The capture content selection screen 500 may also includecontent capture selector icons 504, 506, 508, 510 wherein each icon mayindicate a respective type of content to capture, such as an image,video, or audio recording. In this embodiment, for example, selectoricon 504 corresponds to capturing an image, selector icon 506corresponds to capturing a video, selector icon 508 corresponds tocapturing an audio recording, and selector icon 510 corresponds tocreating a digitally traversable environment. Activating selector icon504, for example, may cause the client application 266 to execute acontent capture routine 272 that coordinates with the content capturedevice 256 to capture an image and provide the image data to the clientapplication 266. In such an embodiment, the client application 266displays the image data from the content capture routine 272 on acontent capture screen (not shown). It should be appreciated that thisprocess would operate in the same or a similar manner for embodiments inwhich a user activates selector icon 506, 508, or 510. In response toreceiving the command to display the content capture screen, the clientapplication 266 may provide a selection to recapture the content or usethe currently captured content on the content capture screen. Inresponse to receiving the command to recapture content (e.g., a blurrypreviously captured image, shaky video, video with a disruption, audiorecording with excess noise, etc.), the client application 266 may againexecute the content capture routine 272 that cooperates with the contentcapture device 256 to capture new/replacement content of the selectedtype of content. Alternatively, the selection to use the currentlycaptured content (e.g., the quality and/or the subject matter of thecurrently captured content is acceptable to the user) may cause theclient application 266 to navigate to a content upload screen 800, asshown in FIG. 8 , that may be displayed on the client source device 216via the client application 266.

FIG. 6 illustrates a content selection screen 600 of a clientapplication 266. The content selection screen 600 may be configured toenable a user to select a type of content, which has already beencaptured, to upload to the proprietary server 202. The content selectionscreen 600 may include a “Back” selector icon 402 that causes the clientapplication 266 to return to the content source screen 300, the contentupload source screen 400, or the home screen 222. The content selectionscreen 600 may also include content selector icons 604, 606, 608, 610wherein each icon may indicate a respective type of content, such asimages, videos, audio recordings, digitally traversable environments,etc. If the user wishes to view the available content of a particulartype of content, the user may select one of the content icons 604, 606,608, 610 to view available content within a specific category ofcontent. For example, upon receiving a selection for the “Images”selector icon 606, the client application 266 may navigate to the imageselection screen 700, as shown in FIG. 7 , to view individual imagesavailable to be uploaded.

FIG. 7 illustrates an image selection screen 700 of a client application266. The image selection screen 700 may be configured to enable a userto select one or more images, from a plurality of images, to upload tothe proprietary server 202. The image selection screen 700 may includethe “Back” selector icon 402 that causes the client application 266 toreturn to the content selection screen 600, the content upload sourcescreen 400, the content source screen 300, or the home screen 222. Theimage selection screen 700A may also include individual image selectoricons 702, 704, 706 that allow the user to select individual images forupload and an “Upload” selector icon 708 to execute a content uploadroutine 274. Each image selector icons 702, 704, 706 may include athumbnail image or a preview image that allows the user to preview arepresentation of the full image. The images may be cropped to uniformlydisplay each image to the user in a homogenous manner, or any othersuitable manner of displaying individual images within the album. Uponreceiving a selection of the image selector icons 702, 704, 706, theclient application 266 overlays an indication (not shown) that aparticular image selector icon 702, 704, 706 has been selected. Theclient application 266 may allow for the selection of only one imageselector icon 702, 704, 706 or for the selection of multiple imageselector icons 702, 704, 706 at once. Upon receiving a selection of the“Upload” selector icon 708, the client application 266 may navigate to acontent upload screen 800, as shown in FIG. 8 , totransmits/upload/transfer the one or more images associated with theselected image selector icon(s) 702, 704, 706 to the proprietary server202. It should be appreciated that the image selection screen 700 ismerely a demonstrative example of one embodiment of a type of contentselection. The same or similar types of selection screens as the imageselection screen 700 may be implemented and operate in the same or asimilar type of manner for other types of content such as video, audiorecording, digitally traversable environments, etc.

FIG. 8 illustrates a content upload screen 800 of a client application266. The content upload screen 800 may be configured to modify,upload/transmit, and/or provide the status of uploading/transmitting thecaptured/selected content from the client source device 216 to theproprietary server 202. While the content upload screen 800 is displayedon the client source device 216, the client application may execute thecontent upload routine 274. The content upload screen 800 may display astatus bar 802 that represents the progress of the content upload to theproprietary server 202 on the client source device 216 via the clientapplication 266. If the user wishes to cancel the content transfer tothe proprietary server 202, the “Back” selector icon 402 may beselected, and the client application 266 may interrupt the uploadingprocess and display a “Cancel Upload” alert message. The “Cancel Upload”alert message (not shown) may request confirmation from the user toabort the content transfer to the proprietary server 202. In any event,if the “Back” selector icon 402 is not selected, the content upload maycontinue to display content transferring progress via the status bar 602until successfully transferred to proprietary server 202. In response toreceiving a confirmation that the content successfully uploaded to theproprietary server 202, the client application 266 may display an“Upload Complete” alert message 804 to the user that requests whetherthe user would like to upload more content. In receiving a positiveresponse to the “Upload Complete” alert message 804, the clientapplication 266 may redirect the user back to the content upload sourcescreen 400, as shown in FIG. 4 , to receive another selection of contentto upload to the proprietary server 202. Moreover, the content uploadsource screen 400 may include an indication (not shown) that thepreviously captured/selected content has been uploaded. Once the contenthas been successfully uploaded/transmitted/transferred from the clientsource device 216 to the proprietary server 202, the client application266 may navigate to an identification tag generation screen 900, asshown in FIG. 9 . If the client application 266 receives a negativeresponse to the “Upload Complete” alert message 804, i.e. “No”, theclient application 266 may redirect the user to an identification tagprint order information screen 700, as shown in FIG. 7 , that may bedisplayed on the client source device 216 via the client application266.

FIG. 9 illustrates an identification tag generation screen 900 of aclient application 266. The identification tag generation screen 900 isconfigured display, via the client source device 216, the identificationtag corresponding to the uploaded content. Before and/or while theclient source device 216 is displaying the identification tag generationscreen 900, the client application 266 may execute the identificationtag generation routine 278. The identification tag generation screen 900may include the “Back” selector icon 402 that causes the clientapplication 266 to return to the content selection screen 600, thecontent upload source screen 400, the source screen 300, or the homescreen 222. In some embodiments, the identification tag generationscreen 900 may include an identification tag type selector icon 904which may enable the user to select the type, form, look, or settings ofthe identification tag. In response to receiving a selection of theidentification tag type selector icon 904, the client application 266may navigate the user to another screen on which the user selects theform of the identification tag. For example, the user may select betweena bar code, QR code, string of character, thumbnail image, or otherformat in which the identification tag may be depicted. Upon receiving aselection of the “Print” selector icon 908, the client application 266may navigate to an identification tag print order information screen1000, as shown in FIG. 10 .

FIG. 10 illustrates an identification tag print order information screen1000 of a client application 266. The identification tag print orderinformation screen 1000 may include the “Back” selector icon 402 thatmay cause the client application 266 to display the identification taglibrary screen to select a different identification tag for printing. Inresponse to receiving a selection of the “Back” selector icon 402, theclient application 266 may display a “Remove All Content” alert message(not shown) that notifies the user that all uploaded content will beremoved if the user wishes to select new content for to upload.Similarly, if the user selects a “Cancel” selector icon 1002, the clientapplication 266 may display a “Cancel” message alert (not shown) toconfirm that the user wishes to cancel the identification tag printorder. The identification tag print order information screen 1000 mayinclude a content upload message 1004 that specifies the type of contentuploaded to the proprietary server 202. Additionally, the identificationtag print order information screen 1000 may include an identificationtag size selector icon 1006 and an identification tag quantity selectoricon 1008. In response to receiving a selection of the size selectoricon 1006, the client application 266 may display the availability ofone or more print size selections for the physical depiction of theidentification tag. For example, upon selecting the size selector icon1006, the client application 266 may display a selection to print thephysical depiction of the identification tag on 1″×1″ print, 2″×4″prints, 3″×5″ prints, 4″×6″ prints, 5″×7″ prints, etc. Additionally, theclient application 266 may display to the user a price, set by aretailer or other third party printer, for each different sized print.Upon receiving a selection for the quantity selector icon 1008, theclient application 266 may display one or more quantities for which theuser may select to print multiple copies of the identification tag.Based on the received size and quantity inputs of the user, the clientapplication 266 may calculate the total price 1012 or quote (optionallyincluding sales tax) of the print order. Moreover, in calculating thetotal price, the client application 266 may also include an appliedcoupon that the user may enter via the “Apply Coupon” field 1010. In anyevent, the user may select the “Next” selector icon to navigate to aprinter selection screen 1100, as shown in FIG. 11 , that may bedisplayed on the client source device 216 via the client application266. It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, such as when theuser prints the identification tags from the user's own printer, theremay not be a price or quote associated with the printer order.

FIG. 11 illustrates a printer selection screen 1100 of a clientapplication 266. The printer selection screen 1100 may include the“Back” selector icon 402 that may cause the client application 266 todisplay the identification tag print order information screen 1000 forthe user to select a different size and/or a different quantity for thephysical depiction of the identification tag. The printer selectionscreen 1100 may also include one or more printer selector icons 1102that allow the user to select from a plurality of printers, such as auser's personal printer, a centralized printing location, a particularretail store (associated with a corresponding retail store selector icon1102) from which the physical depiction of the identification tag may beprinted. Each printer selector icon 1102 may include an address of theprinter 1104, a distance 1106 to the printer from the current locationof the client source device 216, and an estimated pickup time 1108 atwhich the image prints will be available for pickup at the printer of aretail store. The client application 266 may additionally select theprinter for the user by using a pre-determined default retail store,automatically selecting the most proximal retail store, or using anyother manner suitable to determine a retail store. Alternatively, theuser may enter a city and state or a zip code into an address field 1110to view retail stores not residing in the immediate geographical areasurrounding the current location of the client source device 216. Forexample, in response to receiving a zip code, the client application 266displays a list of retail store locations within the received zip code.In any event, when the user selects a particular printer selector icon1102, the client application may navigate the user to a print orderconfirmation screen 1200, as shown in FIG. 12 , that may be displayed onthe client source device 216.

FIG. 12 illustrates an identification tag print order confirmationscreen 1200 of a client application 266. The print order confirmationscreen 1200 may include the “Back” selector icon 402 that may cause theclient application 266 to display the printer selection screen 800 forthe user to select a different printer selector icon 1102 associatedwith a printer and/or retail store location from which to print theidentification tags. Moreover, the identification tag print orderconfirmation screen 1200 may include entry fields for the user to enterbiographical information, such as a first name entry field 1202, a lastname entry field 1204, a telephone number entry field 1206, and an emailaddress entry field 1208. The client application 266 may associate theentered biographical information with the print order so that the retailstore may release the identification tag prints to the appropriatecustomer. The identification tag print order confirmation screen 1200may also include the selected printer that the user selected on theprinter selection screen 1100 of FIG. 11 . If the user wishes to changethe printer or location of the pick-up retail store, the user may selectthe printer selector icon 1102, and in response, the client application266 may redirect the user back to the printer selection screen 1100 ofFIG. 11 . Referring back to FIG. 12 , the identification tag print orderconfirmation screen 1200 may also include an instructional area 1210that may inform the user of a terms of use agreement or privacy policyinformation. The user may agree to the terms of use or the privacypolicy by clicking a check box, etc. After the user confirms thecorrectness of the entered biographical information, the printer/pick upretail store location, and the instructional area 1210, the user mayselect a “Submit” selector icon 1212 that finalizes and transmits theidentification tag print order to the proprietary server 202. In someembodiments, the client application 266 does not require the user to logonto the proprietary network 130 or the client application 266 tocomplete the print order, but rather use the user's biographicalinformation to associate the print order to the user.

FIG. 13 illustrates a print order confirmation receipt screen 1300 of aclient application 266. In response to receiving a confirmation from theproprietary server 202 that the identification tag print ordersuccessfully was entered, the client application 266 may display a printorder confirmation receipt screen 1300, as shown in the FIG. 13 , thatmay be displayed to the user via the client source device 216. The printorder receipt screen 1300 may include the size of print 1002, thequantity of print 708 ordered, the total price 1012, the user'sbiographical information 1302, and/or the pick-up retail store locationof the print order. The user may select the “Done” selector icon 1304when finished reviewing the print order receipt, and in response, theclient application 266 may redirect the user to the home screen 222 ofFIG. 2 , content source screen 300 of FIG. 3 , etc.

FIG. 14 illustrates an identification tag scan screen 1400. Theidentification tag scan screen 1400 may include may include a “Back”selector icon 402 that causes the client application 266 to return tothe content source screen 300 or the home screen 222. It should beappreciated that the identification tag scan screen 1400, and all othersubsequent screens of the client application 266 accessed from theidentification tag screen 1400, may typically be accessed on the clientdestination device 218. In some embodiments, the identification tag scanscreen 1400 may be a digital content capture application (e.g., a cameraand/or microphone of the client destination device 218). Theidentification tag scan screen 1400 may include an icon 1402 instructinga user to capture an image or video of the identification tag 1450. Insome embodiments, the identification tag scan screen 1400 may include animage boundary 1404 which serves to provide a template for a user tocapture an image or video of the identification tag 1450 within theimage boundary 1404 for the purpose of detecting the identification tag1450. The identification tag scan screen 1400 may include anidentification tag scan button 1408 that causes the client destinationdevice 218 to capture/scan a the identification tag 1450. For example,the identification tag scan button 1408 may cause the client application266 to execute an identification tag scanning routine 280 thatcoordinates with an identification tag scanner 257 to capture an imageor video of the identification tag, or otherwise scan the identificationtag, and provide the data to the client application 266. The clientapplication 266 may display the scan/image data from the identificationtag scanning routine 280 on an identification tag capture screen (notshown). In response to receiving the command to display theidentification tag capture screen, the client application 266 mayprovide a selection to rescan/capture a new image or use the currentlydisplayed image data. In response to receiving the command torescan/capture a new image (e.g., a blurry previously captured image,scanning error, etc.), the client application 266 may again execute theidentification tag scanning routine 280 that cooperates with theidentification tag scanner 257 to rescan/capture another image of theidentification tag. Alternatively, the selection to use the currentlyscanned/captured image (e.g., the quality or the subject matter of thecurrently captured image is acceptable to the user) may cause the clientapplication 266 to navigate to an identification tag upload screen 1500,as shown in FIG. 15 , that may be displayed on the client destinationdevice 218 via the client application 266 (described below).

FIG. 15 illustrates an identification tag recognition screen 1500 of aclient application 266. While uploading or transmitting the capturedimage of the identification tag to the proprietary server 202, anidentification tag upload screen 1500, as shown in FIG. 15 , may displaya status bar 1502 that represents the progress of the image upload tothe proprietary server 202 on the client destination device 218 via theclient application 266. If the user wishes to cancel the contenttransfer to the proprietary server 202, the “Back” selector icon 402 maybe selected, and the client application 266 may interrupt the uploadingprocess and display a “Cancel Upload” alert message. The “Cancel Upload”alert message (not shown) may request confirmation from the user toabort the upload of the image of the identification tag to theproprietary server 202. In any event, if the “Back” selector icon 402 isnot selected, the identification tag upload screen 1500 may continue todisplay image uploading progress via the status bar 1502 untilsuccessfully transferred to proprietary server 202. In response toreceiving a confirmation that the image of the identification tagsuccessfully uploaded to the proprietary server 202, the clientapplication 266 may display an “Upload Complete” alert message 1504. Theclient application 266 may direct the user to a content formattingscreen 1600, as shown in FIG. 16 , that may be displayed on the clientdestination device 218 via the client application 266. While uploadingthe scan of the identification tag, the client application 266 mayexecute the identification tag recognition routine 282 to identify thecontent, stored on the database 146, to which the scanned identificationtag corresponds. In an embodiments in which the image of identificationtag is not successfully uploaded to the proprietary server, the clientapplication 266 may display an “Unsuccessful Upload” alert message (notshown), indicated to the user that the image/video of the identificationtag was not uploaded to the proprietary server. In some embodiments, theclient application may display an alert to the user indicating why theimage/video of the identification tag was not uploaded (e.g., “UnknownIdentification Tag,” “No Content Found,” “Image Too Quality Low,”“Insufficient Image Resolution,” “Uploaded Content Not Supported,”etc.), and may provide instructions to the user on how to correct theimage/video (e.g., “Please Recapture Image With Brighter Light”, “PleaseCenter Identification Tag,” etc.). After the client application hasdisplayed an alert message to the user that the image/video of theidentification tag was not uploaded, the client application 266 maynavigate back to the identification tag scan screen 1400 in order torescan the identification tag.

FIG. 16 illustrates a content formatting screen 1600. The contentformatting screen 1600 may include the “Back” selector icon 402 that maycause the client application 266 to return to and display a previousscreen (e.g., the identification tag scan screen 1100, the source screen300, the home screen 222, etc.). After the content corresponding to thescanned identification tag has been determined/located, the content maybe prepared and formatted in preparation for being presented on theclient destination device 218. The content formatting screen 1600 mayinclude a format content for device selector icon 1602, a format contentfor user icon 1604, and a present content icon 1606. In response toreceiving a selection of the format content for device selector icon1602, the client application 266 may automatically format the contentbased on the client destination device 218 on which the content isattempting to be accessed. In some embodiments, after the user hasselected the device selector icon 1602 and/or the format content foruser icon 1604, and the client destination device 218 has beenformatted, the client application 266 may automatically present thecontent without further input/action from the user. In some embodiments,receiving a selection of the format content for device selector icon1602 may cause the client application 266 direct the user to anadditional display screen (not shown) in which the user may manuallyenter the type of device (e.g., a mobile phone, virtual reality headset,TV, computer, interactive VR environment, etc.) on which to generate thecontent or may select from a list or drop down menu of supported clientdestination devices (e.g., Phone 7, Phone X, Galaxy 7, 13″ MacBook pro,Oculus Rift, etc.). Examples of this formatting include addingsubtitles, adjusting an aspect ratio, adjusting a color ratio, adjustinga brightness level, adjusting a sound level, or formatting content tocompensate for a visual, audio, or other cognitive condition of theuser. In response to receiving a selection of the format content for aformat content for user icon 1604, the client application 266 maynavigate the user to an additional display screen (not shown) in whichthe user may manually enter, select from a list, or select from a dropdown menu, any specific characteristics that would requireadjusting/reformatting for the user to properly experience the content.For example, the volume level of the audio/video content to be presentedmay be adjusted to compensate for a hearing impaired/sensitive user.Upon receiving a selection of the present content icon 1606, or afterthe client destination device 218 has been properly formatted as aresult of selecting the format content for device selector icon 1602and/or the format content for user icon 1604, the client application 266may generate and present the content, as shown in FIG. 17 , on theclient destination device 218 via the client application 266.

FIG. 17 illustrates a content presentation screen 1700 of a clientapplication 266. The content presentation screen 1700 is configured topresent content 1702 on the client destination device 218. The contentpresentation screen 1700 may include the “Back” selector icon 402 thatmay cause the client application 266 to return to and display a previousscreen (e.g., the identification tag source scan screen 1400, the sourcescreen 300, the home screen 222, etc.). The content presentation screen1700 may include a pause icon 1704 to pause the content/freeze thecurrent frame of the content being presented on the client destinationdevice 218. In some embodiments, such as a video, audio recording, orinteractive event, after the content has completed being presented theclient application 266 may return to and display a previous screen(e.g., the identification tag scan screen 1100, the source screen 300,the home screen 222, etc.). In some embodiments, after the content hascompleted being presented, the content presentation screen 1700 maydisplay a replay icon (not shown) to regenerate/replay the content fromthe beginning.

FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary method 1800 of implementing a contentidentification tag system in which media content is uploaded, anidentification tag corresponding to the content is generated, a physicaldepiction of the identification tag is printed, and an image of thephysical depiction of the identification tag is scanned in order toaccess the uploaded content. The method 1800 may be implemented asdescribed above with FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, and 2-17 . Accordingly,the method 1800 may be partially or completely implemented over anetwork (e.g., the network 130 of FIG. 1A).

In the method 1800, a client application (e.g., the client application266 of FIG. 1D) is launched from a client device (e.g., the clientsource device 216 and/or the client destination device 218 of FIG. 1A)(block 1802). The client application may display one or more images viaa user interface (e.g., the user interface 240 of FIG. 1D) prompting auser to select between creating an identification tag or scanning anexisting identification tag (block 1804). When a user selects to createan identification tag, the method proceeds to block 1806. When a userselects to scan an existing identification tag, the method proceeds toblock 1830.

In response to selecting to create an identification tag via the userinterface (e.g., the user interface 240 of FIG. 1D), a proprietaryserver (e.g., the proprietary server 202 of FIG. 1A) may transmitinstructions back to the client device that cause the client applicationto display one or more images prompting a user to select betweencapturing new content or retrieving existing content (block 1806). Whena user selects to capture content, the method proceeds to block 1808.When a user selects to retrieve existing content, the method proceeds toblock 1810.

In response to selecting to capture content, the client application mayexecute a content capture routine (e.g., the content capture routine 272of FIG. 1D) (block 1808). The content capture routine may correspond tousing a client source device (e.g., the client source device 216 of FIG.1A), or another device connected to the client source device such as acontent capture device (e.g., the client capture device 256 of FIG. 1D),to capture/record an image, video, audio, and/or other forms ofmultimedia. After the content has been captured/recorded, the method1800 proceeds to block 1812. In some embodiments, a copy of the capturedcontent may be saved locally in a data storage (e.g., the data storage262 of FIG. 1D) on the client source device.

In response to selecting to upload existing content, the clientapplication may retrieve content from a local database (e.g., the localdatabase 239 of FIG. 1D) of the client source device (block 1810). Insome embodiments, a user may select from a plurality of content typesincluding images, videos, audio recordings, haptic patterns, digitalrenderings of traversable environments, etc. After the content has beenselected by a user, the method proceeds to block 1812. In someembodiments, the client application may retrieve content from aspecified remote server (e.g., the proprietary server 202, the centralprocessing system 140 of FIG. 1A, the facility server 126 of FIG. 1A, acloud server, a social networking server, a third party server, or anyother server that may store content).

After capturing, recording, selecting, or otherwise accessing thedesired content to upload, the client application may execute a contentupload routine (e.g., the content upload routine 274 of FIG. 1D) toattempt to upload and store the content to the proprietary server (block1812). In some embodiments the content may be stored in a facilityserver of a retail store (e.g., the facility server 126 of FIG. 1A) orin a database of a central processing system (e.g., the database 146 ofthe central processing system 140 of FIG. 1A). In some embodiments, thecontent upload routine may include the proprietary server analyzing thecontent to determine whether the content, more specifically theelectronic file and/or data representing the content, is an acceptableformat and/or compatible with the hardware and/or systems of theproprietary server. In some embodiments, the proprietary server mayreformat, convert, or otherwise modify the content to be storable and/orotherwise compatible with the hardware and/or software of theproprietary server. For example, the uploaded content may includemultiple images of multiple sizes, resolutions, etc. that may requireprocessing before storing the content. The content upload routine maycrop, resize, or perform any other content processing technique toproperly store the content on the proprietary server. In someembodiments, the proprietary server may scan the content to ensure thatthe file/data is not corrupt, infected with a virus or malware, orotherwise damaged. When the proprietary server determines the uploadedcontent is compatible, acceptable, and/or safe, the method proceeds toblock 1818. When the proprietary server determines content is notcompatible, acceptable, and/or safe, and cannot be modified to becomeacceptable/compatible/safe, the proprietary server transmit instructionsback to the client source device that cause the client application todisplay one or more images indicating that the content was unable to beuploaded (block 1816) and the method may return to block 1806 so thatdifferent content may be captured or selected. In some embodiments, themessage transmitted back to the client source device may indicate thenature of the error with uploading the content and/or may provideinstructions for remedying the content so that it can be successfullyuploaded to the proprietary server.

After the proprietary server determines the content is suitable to beuploaded, the content is uploaded and stored on the proprietary server(Block 1818). In some embodiments, after the content is successfullyupload, the proprietary server transmits a message back to the clientsource device indicating the content was successfully uploaded to theproprietary server (Block 1818). The proprietary server may store theuploaded content in a database (e.g., the database 239 of FIG. 1A),another server (e.g., the facility server 126 of the retail store), orin a central processing system (e.g., the central processing system140). In response to receiving a confirmation that the contentsuccessfully uploaded to the proprietary server, the client applicationmay display an “Upload Complete” alert message to the user via a userinterface (e.g., the user interface 240 of FIG. 1D) before proceeding toblock 1820.

In response to storing the content on the proprietary server, theproprietary server executes an identification tag generation routine(e.g., the identification tag generation routine 278 of FIG. 1D) tocreate an identification tag corresponding to the uploaded content(block 1820). In some embodiments, the proprietary server may alsoinclude a memory register containing a registry of each individualidentification tag that corresponds to specific stored content, and/orwhere that content is stored within the database or proprietary server.In some embodiments, the proprietary server may generate a string ofnumbers and/or characters corresponding to the stored content. In someembodiments, a certain string of characters may designate the type ofcontent. For example, an identification tag of “IMG764242342” maycorrespond to content that is an image because the identification tagcontains the string of characters “IMG.” In some embodiments, theidentification tag may contain a string of characters corresponding tothe uploader/owner of the content, or a user/customer profile associatedwith the uploader/owner. For example, if an individual named “JohnSmith” has uploaded the content, the identification tag may be“JohnSmithIMG00001”. In some embodiments, the user may select the type,form, look, etc. of the identification tag.

After generating the identification tag, the proprietary server maytransmit one or more prompts to a user to select one or more settingscorresponding to printing a physical depiction of the identification tag(block 1822). In some embodiments, for example, a user may select alocation from which to print the physical depiction of theidentification tag (e.g., a user's personal printer, a retail store, awarehouse facility, etc.) a quantity of physical prints, the size of thephysical print, type and/or size of material on which the identificationtag will be printed on (e.g., paper, plastic, metal, cloth, etc.),and/or any other property pertaining to the printing of theidentification tag. In determining available printing devices to printfrom, a GPS unit of the client source device (e.g., the GPS unit 244 ofFIG. 1D) may be utilized to determine the closest available printingdevice, retail stores in proximate location to the user, or a locationfor delivering the identification tags. In response to receiving aselection of the print settings, the client application may determinewhether a default pickup retail store has been selected. The defaultpickup retail store may be a retail store that the user most oftenfrequents, a retail store that is closest to the user's home or work,etc. If the user has not determined the default pickup retail store, theclient application may execute a location awareness routine (e.g., thelocation awareness routine 276 of FIG. 1D) that coordinates with the GPSunit to geo-locate the current location of the client source device. Ifthe current location of the client source device is available, theclient application may determine a list of proximal retail stores to thecurrent location and may display only the retail stores that include theshortest distance to the current location of the client source device.If the current location is not available, the client application mayonly receive address information from the user, such as receiving anaddress information, either contained in a user profile or manuallyentered by the user via an address field prompt on a retail storeselection screen. In some embodiments, using the location associatedwith the entered address information, the client application maydetermine a list of proximal retails stores to the location associatedwith the entered address information and may display only the retailstores that include the shortest distance to the location associatedwith the entered address information. The user may select a desiredretail store from the displayed retail stores via a retail storeselector icon, for example.

Once the printing setting of the physical depiction of theidentification tag have been selected and transmitted to the proprietaryserver, the proprietary server may submit the print order to a printer(e.g., the printer 145 of FIG. 1A) and the physical depiction of theidentification tag is printed (1824). In some embodiments, when theprint order is successfully received by the proprietary server, theclient application may receive a message indicative of a print orderreceipt/confirmation and may display the receipt to the user. Inembodiments in which the identification tag is printed at a remoteprinter (e.g., a warehouse, retail store, etc.), the identification tagmay be shipped to the user or the user may be required to pick up theidentification tags from a remote location (e.g., a retail store,centralized pick-up location, designated kiosk, etc.), such as thedefault retail store or the retail store selected at block 1822.

At a time after the physical depiction of the identification tag isprinted, a user (or a plurality of users, who may be the same or adifferent user than previously referenced) may scan an existingidentification tag, the proprietary server may transmit instructionsback to a client destination device (e.g., the client destination device218 of FIG. 1E) that cause the client application to display one or moreimages prompting a user to scan the identification tag (block 1830). Theproprietary server may transmit instructions back to the clientdestination device that cause the client application to execute a scanidentification tag routine (e.g., the scan identification tag routine280 of FIG. 1E) in order to, for example, capture an image or video ofthe physical depiction of the identification tag.

The scan of the physical depiction of the identification tag is uploadedto the proprietary server, and the proprietary server or clientapplication executes an identification tag recognition routine (e.g.,the identification tag recognition routine 282 of FIG. 1E) to analyzethe scan to determine if an identification tag can be recognized in thescan (block 1832). After receiving the scan, the proprietary server maydetermine whether the scan is of sufficient quality to identify certainvisual indicators, corresponding to the identification tag, that may bedepicted in the scan. The proprietary server may employ one or moredigital image analysis techniques, algorithms, routines, or the like todetermine whether the scan depicts an identification tag, as well asassess and consider image characteristics such as sharpness, noise,range, tone reproduction, contrast, color accuracy, distortion,vignetting, exposure accuracy, lateral chromatic aberration (LCA), lensflare, color moire, and/or artifacts. If the proprietary serverdetermines that the scan is of sufficient image quality, then the method1800 proceeds to block 1840.

When the proprietary server cannot decipher an identification tag in thescan, for example because the scan is of insufficient quality, theproprietary server may transmit instructions back to the clientdestination device that cause the client application to display one ormore images indicating that the scan could not be processed (block1834). In some embodiments, after the proprietary server determines thatthe captured scan is of insufficient quality, the proprietary server maytransmit a message using the client application to request a new scan beuploaded. Further, in some embodiments the message may includeinstructions for correcting the image or for properly capturing a scanthat is of sufficient quality. Accordingly, the method 1800 may returnto block 1830 and repeat blocks 1830-1832 so that a different scan ofthe identification tag can be captured, uploaded, and analyzed.

After the proprietary server determines the scan of the physicaldepiction of the identification tag is acceptable, the proprietaryserver then determines what content, stored in the database or on theproprietary server, corresponds to the scanned identification tag (block1840). To determine the content correspond to the identification tag,the proprietary server may execute an identification tag recognitionroutine (e.g., the identification tag recognition routine 282 of FIG.1E) to analyze the captured scan to identify a set of visual identifiersthat may be depicted in the captured scan, such as one or more graphicalobjects, logos, text, barcodes, labels, and/or the like that are theidentification tag itself or correspond to the identification tag. Itshould be appreciated that the proprietary server may employ any type ofimage analysis technique, including an object recognition technique(s),in analyzing the captured scan of the identification tag. Thus, inanalyzing the captured scan, the proprietary server may determinewhether any identified visual identifiers match or are similar to thevisual identifiers for an identification tag stored on the proprietaryserver. In some embodiments, the proprietary server may compare theidentified visual identifier(s) to the visual identifier(s) for theidentification tag, wherein the proprietary server may calculate asimilarity score based on the comparison, and deem that the visualidentifier(s) is a “match” if the calculated similarity score meets orexceeds a threshold amount or value. For example, if the proprietaryserver calculates a similarity score of 85% and the threshold amount is75%, then the proprietary server may deem that the visual identifier(s)in the captured scan matches those associated with the identificationtag. It should be appreciated that in comparing the visualidentifier(s), the proprietary server may employ any type of algorithm,calculation, technique, or the like. In determining or identifying thedetails or information, the proprietary server may perform one or moreoptical character recognition (OCR) techniques. For example, when theidentification tag is a barcode, the proprietary server may perform anOCR technique on the barcode that may be depicted in the captured scan,wherein the output of the OCR technique corresponds to identifying thecontent corresponding to the identification tag. For example, a user mayhave a unique logo and position thereof, label shape/size, and colorpattern for its identification tags. In another example, theidentification tag may correspond to a uniform resource identifier (URI)to obtain the location of the content on the proprietary server, and theproprietary server may transmit a URI to a remote server (e.g., theproprietary server) and, in response, the remote server may transmit thecontent associated with the URI. When the proprietary server does notrecognize the identification tag and/or cannot locate contentcorresponding to the scanned identification tag, the proprietary servermay transmit a message back indicating an error (block 1842), and themethod may return to block 1830 so that the identification tag, or adifferent identification tag, can be rescanned, uploaded, and analyzed.When the proprietary server determines the content stored on theproprietary server corresponding to the identification tag, the method1800 proceeds to block 1850.

After the proprietary server determines the content corresponding to thescanned identification tag, the proprietary server transmitsinstructions back to the client destination device that cause the clientapplication to retrieve the content, format the content for the specificdevice and/or user, and present the content using the client destinationdevice (block 1850). Upon retrieving the content from the proprietaryserver, the client application 266 may execute a content presentationroutine (e.g., the content presentation routine 284 of FIG. 1E) toformat and present the retrieved content on the client destinationdevice, or a component thereof and/or connected to the clientdestination device. For example, the retrieved content may requireadjustments in size, resolution, volume, brightness, depth, hapticintensity, etc. before presenting the content to the user. For example,in embodiments in which the content is an image or other visual content,the content presentation routine may crop, resize, or perform any otherimage processing technique to uniformly display the images to the userin a grid, column, etc. pattern. In some embodiments, the contentpresentation routine may modify the retrieved content to compensate fora user's specific preferences or conditions. For example, the contentpresentation routine may modify the color scheme of visual content to beviewed by a user who is colorblind, may modify visual content tocoincide with a user's specific vision prescription to maximize clarity,may adjust light exposure and speed as a preventive measure for user'swith epilepsy, and/or may adjust sound levels of audio content foruser's who are hearing impaired. In some embodiments in which thecontent includes audio, for example, subtitles may be added.

In some embodiments, the method 1800 does not include blocks 1806-1822because the identification tag attempting to be scanned is apre-existing identification tag. For example, in such embodiments, theidentification tag may correspond to a well-known and/or commerciallyavailable painting, song, piece of art, concert, sporting event, orother environment, and the owner of such content may mass-produce andsell an identification tag corresponding to that content. In someembodiments, the identification tag may be generated and/or detectedusing machine learning techniques, such as cognitive learning, deeplearning, combined learning, heuristic engines and algorithms, and/orpattern recognition techniques. For example, the proprietary server, theclient application, a processor, etc. may be trained using supervised orunsupervised machine learning, and the machine learning program mayemploy a neural network, which may be a convolutional neural network, adeep learning neural network, or a combined learning module or programthat learns in two or more fields or areas of interest. Machine learningmay involve identifying and recognizing patterns in existing data inorder to facilitate making predictions for subsequent data. Models maybe created based upon example inputs in order to make valid and reliablepredictions for novel inputs.

Additionally or alternatively, the machine learning programs may betrained by inputting sample data sets or certain data into the programs,such as image, video, audio, mobile device, retailer database, and/orthird-party database data. The machine learning programs may utilizedeep learning algorithms that may be primarily focused on patternrecognition, and may be trained after processing multiple examples. Themachine learning programs may include Bayesian program learning (BPL),voice recognition and synthesis, image or object recognition, opticalcharacter recognition, and/or natural language processing—eitherindividually or in combination. The machine learning programs may alsoinclude natural language processing, semantic analysis, automaticreasoning, and/or machine learning.

In supervised machine learning, a processing element may be providedwith example inputs and their associated outputs, and may seek todiscover a general rule that maps inputs to outputs, so that whensubsequent novel inputs are provided the processing element may, basedupon the discovered rule, accurately predict the correct output. Inunsupervised machine learning, the processing element may be required tofind its own structure in unlabeled example inputs. In one embodiment,machine learning techniques may be used to extract the relevant data forone or more user device details, user request or login details, userdevice sensors, geolocation information, image data, the retailerdatabase, a third-party database, and/or other data.

In one embodiment, a processor (and/or machine learning or heuristicengine or algorithm discussed herein) may be trained by providing itwith a large sample of content and/or user data with knowncharacteristics or features, such as historical vehicle data and/or pastauto claim data. Based upon these analyses, the processing element maylearn how to identify characteristics and patterns that may then beapplied to analyzing user device details, user device sensors,geolocation information, image data, the retailer database, athird-party database, and/or other data. For example, the processingelement may learn, with the user's permission or affirmative consent, toidentify content and/or identification tags, and/or learn to identifyuser characteristics and/or preferences.

Although the above text sets forth a detailed description of numerousdifferent embodiments, it should be understood that the legal scope ofthe description is defined by the words of the claims set forth at theend of this patent and equivalents. The detailed description is to beconstrued as exemplary only and does not describe every possibleembodiment since describing every possible embodiment would beimpractical. Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented,using either current technology or technology developed after the filingdate of this patent, which would still fall within the scope of theclaims.

Throughout this specification, plural instances may implementcomponents, operations, or structures described as a single instance.Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustratedand described as separate operations, one or more of the individualoperations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that theoperations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures andfunctionality presented as separate components in example configurationsmay be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly,structures and functionality presented as a single component may beimplemented as separate components. These and other variations,modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of thesubject matter herein.

Additionally, certain embodiments are described herein as includinglogic or a number of routines, subroutines, applications, orinstructions. These may constitute either software (e.g., code embodiedon a non-transitory, machine-readable medium) or hardware. In hardware,the routines, etc., are tangible units capable of performing certainoperations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. Inexample embodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone,client or server computer system) or one or more hardware modules of acomputer system (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may beconfigured by software (e.g., an application or application portion) asa hardware module that operates to perform certain operations asdescribed herein.

In various embodiments, a hardware module may be implementedmechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware module maycomprise dedicated circuitry or logic that may be permanently configured(e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gatearray (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) toperform certain operations. A hardware module may also compriseprogrammable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within ageneral-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that may betemporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. Itwill be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware modulemechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or intemporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may bedriven by cost and time considerations.

Accordingly, the term “hardware module” should be understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or toperform certain operations described herein. Considering embodiments inwhich hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed),each of the hardware modules need not be configured or instantiated atany one instance in time. For example, where the hardware modulescomprise a general-purpose processor configured using software, thegeneral-purpose processor may be configured as respective differenthardware modules at different times. Software may accordingly configurea processor, for example, to constitute a particular hardware module atone instance of time and to constitute a different hardware module at adifferent instance of time.

Hardware modules may provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware modules. Accordingly, the described hardwaremodules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multipleof such hardware modules exist contemporaneously, communications may beachieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuitsand buses) that connect the hardware modules. In embodiments in whichmultiple hardware modules are configured or instantiated at differenttimes, communications between such hardware modules may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware modules have access. Forexample, one hardware module may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it may becommunicatively coupled. A further hardware module may then, at a latertime, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware modules may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and may operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modulesreferred to herein may, in some example embodiments, compriseprocessor-implemented modules.

Similarly, the methods or routines described herein may be at leastpartially processor-implemented. For example, at least some of theoperations of a method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented hardware modules. The performance of certain ofthe operations may be distributed among the one or more processors, notonly residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number ofmachines. In some example embodiments, the processor or processors maybe located in a single location (e.g., within a home environment, anoffice environment, or as a server farm), while in other embodiments theprocessors may be distributed across a number of locations.

The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed amongthe one or more processors, not only residing within a single machine,but deployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments,the one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may belocated in a single geographic location (e.g., within a homeenvironment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other exampleembodiments, the one or more processors or processor-implemented modulesmay be distributed across a number of geographic locations.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using wordssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,”“presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions orprocesses of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transformsdata represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical)quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or othermachine components that receive, store, transmit, or displayinformation.

As used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment may be included in at leastone embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” invarious places in the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same embodiment.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “may include,”“including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited to only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary,“or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example,a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true(or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or notpresent) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (orpresent).

In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elementsand components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely forconvenience and to give a general sense of the description. Thisdescription, and the claims that follow, should be read to include oneor at least one and the singular also may include the plural unless itis obvious that it is meant otherwise.

It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined inthis patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘ ’ is herebydefined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intent tolimit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication,beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not beinterpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in anysection of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To theextent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent isreferred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning,that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader,and it is not intended that such claim term be limited, by implicationor otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, unless a claim element isdefined by reciting the word “means” and a function without the recitalof any structure, it is not intended that the scope of any claim elementbe interpreted based on the application of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixthparagraph.

What is claimed:
 1. A computer-implemented method of ordering uniqueidentification tag prints on a graphical user interface (GUI) of aclient device, comprising: receiving, via the GUI, a user selection ofone or more digital media; in response to a user upload selectionreceived via the GUI, transmitting the one or more digital media to aremote computing device; receiving, via the GUI, a user identificationtag print selection, the user identification tag print selectionincluding a size of a physical print of an identification tag, aquantity of physical prints of the identification tag, a location fromwhich to print the physical print of the identification tag or fromwhich to obtain the location of the digital media on the remotecomputing device, or user contact information of the uniqueidentification tag; transmitting the user identification tag printselection to the remote computing device; and displaying, on the GUI, atag print order confirmation message including a textual or graphicalcoding scheme linking the tag print order confirmation message to theone or more digital media at the remote computing device, wherein thetag print order confirmation message does not include the digital media,and wherein the textual or graphical coding scheme includes anidentifier of the user.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,wherein receiving, via the GUI, the user selection of the one or moredigital media includes one or both of (i) capturing new content, and(ii) retrieving existing content.
 3. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein in response to the user upload selection received viathe GUI, transmitting the one or more digital media to the remotecomputing device includes displaying a content upload screen on the GUI,including a status bar that represents a progress of the transmitting ofthe one or more digital media to the remote computing device.
 4. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying,on the GUI, a tag generation screen enabling the user to select a type,a form, a look, or a setting of the unique identification tag.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: in responseto receiving, via the GUI, the user identification tag print selection,the user identification tag print selection including the size, thequantity, the location, or the user contact information of the uniqueidentification tag, calculating a total price based on the size, thequantity, the location, or the user contact information of the uniqueidentification tag.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,further comprising: displaying, on the GUI, a printer selection screenfor enabling the user to print a physical depiction of the uniqueidentification tag, the printer selection screen including one or moreprinter selector icons that correspond to a respective printer.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the useridentification tag print selection to the remote computing device causesa printer connected to the remote computing device to print the uniqueidentification tag.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7,further comprising: shipping the printed unique identification tag tothe user.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, whereindisplaying, on the GUI, the tag print order confirmation messageincludes displaying the location and a pick up time.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the textual or graphicalcoding scheme includes a uniform resource identifier linking the tagprint order confirmation message to the one or more digital media at theremote computing device.
 11. A computing system for generating a uniqueidentification tag print, the system comprising: one or more processors;and a memory including computer-executable instructions that, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the computing system to:receive, via a graphical user interface (GUI), a user selection of oneor more digital media; transmit the one or more digital media to aremote computing device in response to receiving a user upload selectionvia the GUI; receive, via the GUI, a user identification tag printselection, the user identification tag print selection including a sizeof a physical print of an identification tag, a quantity of physicalprints of the identification tag, a location from which to print thephysical print of the identification tag or from which to obtain thelocation of the digital media on the remote computing device, or usercontact information of a tag; transmit the user identification tag printselection to the remote computing device; and display, on the GUI, a tagprint order confirmation message including a textual or graphical codingscheme linking the tag print order confirmation message to the one ormore digital media at the remote computing device, wherein the tag printorder confirmation message does not include the digital media, andwherein the textual or graphical coding scheme includes an identifier ofthe user.
 12. The computing system of claim 11, the memory includingfurther computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the oneor more processors, cause the computing system to: one or both of (i)capture new content, and (ii) retrieve existing content.
 13. Thecomputing system of claim 11, the memory including furthercomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the computing system to: display content upload screenon the GUI, including a status bar that represents a progress of thetransmitting of the one or more digital media to the remote computingdevice.
 14. The computing system of claim 11, the memory includingfurther computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the oneor more processors, cause the computing system to: display, on the GUI,a tag generation screen enabling the user to select a type, a form, alook, or a setting of the unique identification tag.
 15. The computingsystem of claim 11, the memory including further computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe computing system to: calculate a total price based on the size, thequantity, the location, or the user contact information of the uniqueidentification tag.
 16. The computing system of claim 11, the memoryincluding further computer-executable instructions that, when executedby the one or more processors, cause the computing system to: display,on the GUI, a printer selection screen for enabling the user to print aphysical depiction of the unique identification tag, the printerselection screen including one or more printer selector icons thatcorrespond to a respective printer.
 17. A non-transitory computerreadable medium storing program instructions that when executed, cause acomputer system to: receive, via a GUI, a user selection of one or moredigital media; transmit the one or more digital media to a remotecomputing device in response to receiving a user upload selection viathe GUI; receive, via the GUI, a user identification tag printselection, the user identification tag print selection including a sizeof a physical print of an identification tag, a quantity of physicalprints of the identification tag, a location from which to print thephysical print of the identification tag or from which to obtain thelocation of the digital media on the remote computing device, or usercontact information of the unique identification tag; transmit the useridentification tag print selection to the remote computing device; anddisplay, on the GUI, a tag print order confirmation message including atextual or graphical coding scheme linking the tag print orderconfirmation message to the one or more digital media at the remotecomputing device, wherein the tag print order confirmation message doesnot include the digital media, and wherein the textual or graphicalcoding scheme includes an identifier of the user.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 17, including further programinstructions that when executed, cause a computer system to: display, onthe GUI, a tag generation screen enabling the user to select a type, aform, a look, or a setting of a unique identification tag.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, including furtherprogram instructions that when executed, cause a computer system to:calculate a total price based on the size, the quantity, the location,or the user contact information of a unique identification tag.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, including furtherprogram instructions that when executed, cause a computer system to:display, on the GUI, a printer selection screen for enabling the user toprint a physical depiction of a unique identification tag, the printerselection screen including one or more printer selector icons thatcorrespond to a respective printer.
 21. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 20, including further program instructions thatwhen executed, cause a computer system to: ship the printed uniqueidentification tag to the user.